1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:02,580 Imagine this. You're in the heart of Chicago 2 00:00:02,639 --> 00:00:05,059 mingling with the brightest minds in health IT. 3 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:07,825 You've arrived at the 9th annual Health IT 4 00:00:07,904 --> 00:00:10,484 plus Digital Health plus RCM conference 5 00:00:10,785 --> 00:00:13,344 taking place October 1st through 4th at the 6 00:00:13,344 --> 00:00:15,525 luxurious Hyatt Regency Chicago. 7 00:00:15,939 --> 00:00:18,739 Picture the excitement as you collect countless business 8 00:00:18,739 --> 00:00:22,339 cards, forging invaluable connections with over 25 100 9 00:00:22,339 --> 00:00:23,804 executive level attendees. 10 00:00:24,364 --> 00:00:26,605 Feel the buzz of ideas flowing as you 11 00:00:26,605 --> 00:00:29,405 engage in meaningful conversations about the future of 12 00:00:29,405 --> 00:00:30,385 healthcare technology. 13 00:00:30,925 --> 00:00:34,250 Envision yourself attending sessions led by over 415 14 00:00:35,109 --> 00:00:36,009 elite speakers 15 00:00:36,469 --> 00:00:39,049 gaining insights that could transform your organization. 16 00:00:39,509 --> 00:00:43,015 From digital transformation and telehealth to clinician burnout 17 00:00:43,015 --> 00:00:43,835 and cybersecurity, 18 00:00:44,614 --> 00:00:47,094 each topic is designed to spark new ideas 19 00:00:47,094 --> 00:00:49,894 and provide actionable takeaways, but it doesn't stop 20 00:00:49,894 --> 00:00:53,000 there. Imagine sitting in a packed auditorium listening 21 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,239 to motivating keynotes from some of the biggest 22 00:00:55,239 --> 00:00:56,219 names in sports. 23 00:00:56,520 --> 00:00:58,939 Four time Super Bowl champion Rob Gronkowski, 24 00:00:59,719 --> 00:01:03,695 WNBA champion and author Lisa Leslie, and NFL 25 00:01:03,755 --> 00:01:05,694 legend and ESPN analyst 26 00:01:06,075 --> 00:01:08,635 Eli Manning will be there sharing their stories 27 00:01:08,635 --> 00:01:10,974 and inspiring you to reach new heights. 28 00:01:11,275 --> 00:01:13,759 All around you, the future of Health IT 29 00:01:13,819 --> 00:01:15,840 unfolds, and you're not just a spectator, 30 00:01:16,219 --> 00:01:17,759 you're an active participant. 31 00:01:18,299 --> 00:01:20,560 Don't wait. You can find the event website 32 00:01:20,619 --> 00:01:21,200 and get 33 00:01:21,685 --> 00:01:22,984 by visiting beckershospitalreview.com 34 00:01:25,204 --> 00:01:27,924 and clicking on the events page. That's the 35 00:01:27,924 --> 00:01:28,424 beckershospitalreview.com 36 00:01:30,245 --> 00:01:31,225 events page. 37 00:01:31,989 --> 00:01:34,629 Welcome everyone to the Becker's Healthcare podcast series. 38 00:01:34,629 --> 00:01:37,189 I'm Ryan Mohammed, writer and moderator with Becker's 39 00:01:37,189 --> 00:01:39,349 Healthcare. I'm thrilled to have with me today 40 00:01:39,349 --> 00:01:42,394 James Yonan, director of dental services at Sun 41 00:01:42,394 --> 00:01:44,634 Life Health. James, welcome to the Becker's Health 42 00:01:44,634 --> 00:01:46,234 Care podcast. We're very excited to have you 43 00:01:46,234 --> 00:01:47,969 join us today. To get started, would you 44 00:01:47,969 --> 00:01:49,729 mind please introducing yourself and telling us a 45 00:01:49,729 --> 00:01:50,709 bit about your background? 46 00:01:51,569 --> 00:01:53,590 Yeah. Of course. My name is James Yonan. 47 00:01:54,049 --> 00:01:56,290 I am the director of dental services at 48 00:01:56,290 --> 00:01:58,805 Sun Life Health. I'm originally from California. I 49 00:01:58,805 --> 00:02:01,365 went to undergrad at Fresno State, and then 50 00:02:01,365 --> 00:02:03,204 went on to attend dental school at A. 51 00:02:03,204 --> 00:02:05,924 T. Still University in Mesa, Arizona where I 52 00:02:05,924 --> 00:02:08,129 got my DMD and my master's in public 53 00:02:08,129 --> 00:02:10,849 health. And I've been working in public health 54 00:02:10,849 --> 00:02:12,129 in a community health setting, 55 00:02:12,530 --> 00:02:14,150 since graduating dental school. 56 00:02:15,115 --> 00:02:16,794 Oh, wow. Thank you so much for letting 57 00:02:16,794 --> 00:02:17,615 us know that. 58 00:02:18,155 --> 00:02:19,754 I'm very excited to talk with you now. 59 00:02:19,754 --> 00:02:21,514 I love that sort of, you know, major 60 00:02:21,514 --> 00:02:22,175 in college. 61 00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:24,919 So with everything, you know, being in public 62 00:02:24,919 --> 00:02:26,599 health, what are some of the biggest issues 63 00:02:26,599 --> 00:02:28,460 you're following in dental right now? 64 00:02:29,965 --> 00:02:31,564 Well, I I would say that one of 65 00:02:31,564 --> 00:02:33,645 the big issues that I've been kinda trying 66 00:02:33,645 --> 00:02:35,584 to keep a track of has been corporate 67 00:02:35,724 --> 00:02:36,224 dentistry. 68 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:39,560 The trends in health care now are pushing 69 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:40,300 more towards 70 00:02:40,680 --> 00:02:43,000 the corporate side, and it's just making it 71 00:02:43,000 --> 00:02:45,594 a little bit more challenging for those solo 72 00:02:45,594 --> 00:02:47,534 practice, private practice owners, 73 00:02:48,155 --> 00:02:50,735 to to truly express their passion for dentistry 74 00:02:50,794 --> 00:02:52,635 and have the freedom and autonomy to do 75 00:02:52,635 --> 00:02:53,935 what they want in their practice, 76 00:02:54,419 --> 00:02:56,819 and then the power and influence that corporate 77 00:02:56,819 --> 00:02:57,799 dentistry has. 78 00:02:58,099 --> 00:03:00,439 There are some good that's coming from it. 79 00:03:00,900 --> 00:03:03,564 For example, I would say, like Pacific Dental 80 00:03:03,564 --> 00:03:04,064 Services 81 00:03:04,365 --> 00:03:06,685 and the new change in the name that 82 00:03:06,685 --> 00:03:08,444 they're doing now and the push for medical 83 00:03:08,444 --> 00:03:10,944 dental integration, I think that's absolutely amazing. 84 00:03:11,409 --> 00:03:13,509 But there are some downsides to it, 85 00:03:14,129 --> 00:03:15,729 and I I would say a lot of 86 00:03:15,729 --> 00:03:16,870 it has to do with 87 00:03:17,409 --> 00:03:20,069 shaping the future of our dental 88 00:03:20,814 --> 00:03:23,615 graduates from these, universities and and what they're 89 00:03:23,615 --> 00:03:25,235 coming out of. And I'm I'm finding 90 00:03:25,935 --> 00:03:28,335 it a lot more challenging to have dental 91 00:03:28,335 --> 00:03:31,090 providers interested in pursuing a career in public 92 00:03:31,090 --> 00:03:31,590 health 93 00:03:31,969 --> 00:03:33,989 or working in a community health setting, 94 00:03:34,530 --> 00:03:37,330 only because they've just been approached and more 95 00:03:37,330 --> 00:03:38,469 eager to go towards, 96 00:03:39,185 --> 00:03:40,084 this corporate 97 00:03:40,705 --> 00:03:41,745 dentistry model. 98 00:03:42,064 --> 00:03:44,645 And it's it's definitely creating some shortages, 99 00:03:45,185 --> 00:03:47,025 for dental providers in some of these rural 100 00:03:47,025 --> 00:03:49,520 communities, where patients are having access to care. 101 00:03:51,260 --> 00:03:53,740 Yeah. Yeah. That's definitely interesting. I hear from, 102 00:03:53,740 --> 00:03:55,819 you know, several executives a month about the 103 00:03:55,819 --> 00:03:58,245 culture of m and a, And it seems 104 00:03:58,245 --> 00:03:59,864 like it's a lot of take and give, 105 00:04:00,485 --> 00:04:01,784 in that sort of solution. 106 00:04:02,644 --> 00:04:04,724 So I I can it's probably you know, 107 00:04:04,724 --> 00:04:06,025 it makes a lot of people 108 00:04:06,490 --> 00:04:06,990 nervous, 109 00:04:07,530 --> 00:04:09,849 even thinking about it. Is there anything that's 110 00:04:09,849 --> 00:04:11,530 making you excited in what you're seeing in 111 00:04:11,530 --> 00:04:13,129 the news or anything that you're doing personally 112 00:04:13,129 --> 00:04:15,455 within your work, or anything else that's kinda 113 00:04:15,455 --> 00:04:17,375 making you nervous or, you know, that you 114 00:04:17,375 --> 00:04:18,834 focus a little bit more on? 115 00:04:20,095 --> 00:04:22,620 Well, I really like this this new push 116 00:04:22,620 --> 00:04:24,540 and and the new technology that's coming out 117 00:04:24,540 --> 00:04:26,160 with that's incorporating AI. 118 00:04:26,779 --> 00:04:27,840 I feel that, 119 00:04:28,220 --> 00:04:29,759 you know, in the dental field, 120 00:04:30,460 --> 00:04:32,545 there's a lot that has to do with 121 00:04:32,545 --> 00:04:35,425 this word called trust. And so patients have 122 00:04:35,425 --> 00:04:37,024 to trust us. And and for the longest 123 00:04:37,024 --> 00:04:39,745 time ever, dentists is just dentists have just 124 00:04:39,745 --> 00:04:41,550 had a bad rap. I mean, patients just 125 00:04:41,550 --> 00:04:43,069 think that we are out to take advantage 126 00:04:43,069 --> 00:04:45,949 of them. There's several things that's on social 127 00:04:45,949 --> 00:04:48,564 media that's influencing folks to thinking that dentists 128 00:04:48,564 --> 00:04:50,245 are only in the game for money and 129 00:04:50,245 --> 00:04:52,004 not really there to help people. And so 130 00:04:52,004 --> 00:04:53,845 there's this always, like, question of, do I 131 00:04:53,845 --> 00:04:55,365 really need to do what the dentist just 132 00:04:55,365 --> 00:04:56,805 told me, or should I just go somewhere 133 00:04:56,805 --> 00:04:59,019 else and get a separate treatment plan and 134 00:04:59,019 --> 00:05:01,259 get another opinion from another dentist to see 135 00:05:01,259 --> 00:05:03,099 if it's cheaper or if I really do 136 00:05:03,099 --> 00:05:04,699 need to do this? And so I feel 137 00:05:04,699 --> 00:05:06,319 like AI is going to help 138 00:05:06,814 --> 00:05:09,055 calibrate a lot of dentists because, you know, 139 00:05:09,055 --> 00:05:11,455 we have AI now that's incorporated in some 140 00:05:11,455 --> 00:05:12,014 of our, 141 00:05:12,574 --> 00:05:15,615 radiograph software where they're reviewing things. And I 142 00:05:15,615 --> 00:05:17,300 feel like, you know, over time, 143 00:05:17,919 --> 00:05:19,779 insurance companies are gonna start utilizing, 144 00:05:21,279 --> 00:05:22,099 AI technology, 145 00:05:22,959 --> 00:05:24,800 and helping to calibrate, you know, what they 146 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:26,384 will and what they won't accept, 147 00:05:26,925 --> 00:05:28,764 for treatment so that there isn't this push 148 00:05:28,764 --> 00:05:31,485 for upselling treatment to patients and take advantage 149 00:05:31,485 --> 00:05:34,160 of patients and then maybe getting that trust 150 00:05:34,160 --> 00:05:36,319 back from patients knowing that AI is there 151 00:05:36,319 --> 00:05:39,199 to advocate for them and is standardizing it 152 00:05:39,199 --> 00:05:40,180 across the board. 153 00:05:41,564 --> 00:05:44,605 Yeah. Yeah. Abs absolutely. I think AI right 154 00:05:44,605 --> 00:05:46,444 now is such a hot topic in health 155 00:05:46,444 --> 00:05:46,944 care. 156 00:05:47,324 --> 00:05:48,339 And, you know, 157 00:05:48,980 --> 00:05:50,980 unfortunately, I do think that the miseducation of 158 00:05:50,980 --> 00:05:53,139 dentistry is taking a toll on us. And, 159 00:05:53,139 --> 00:05:54,579 you know, I I know I've heard from 160 00:05:54,579 --> 00:05:56,259 several people that, you know, they don't think 161 00:05:56,259 --> 00:05:58,735 that dentistry is that important to their overall 162 00:05:58,735 --> 00:06:00,274 well-being, which is really unfortunate, 163 00:06:00,975 --> 00:06:02,254 because I, you know, I get to talk 164 00:06:02,254 --> 00:06:04,014 to people like you all the time and, 165 00:06:04,014 --> 00:06:06,095 you know, you say the exact opposite, which 166 00:06:06,095 --> 00:06:06,675 I completely 167 00:06:07,220 --> 00:06:08,040 completely believe. 168 00:06:08,979 --> 00:06:10,899 For you, what would the most effective health 169 00:06:10,899 --> 00:06:13,079 care leaders need in order to be successful 170 00:06:13,379 --> 00:06:14,899 in the next 2 to 3 years, would 171 00:06:14,899 --> 00:06:15,560 you say? 172 00:06:16,365 --> 00:06:17,264 I would say 173 00:06:18,125 --> 00:06:19,185 effective communication. 174 00:06:19,884 --> 00:06:21,805 I feel that we need to change the 175 00:06:21,805 --> 00:06:23,745 way that we are communicating with patients. 176 00:06:24,605 --> 00:06:26,769 People don't really take too well 177 00:06:27,230 --> 00:06:28,990 to having somebody, if you're, you know, if 178 00:06:28,990 --> 00:06:30,910 you're looking at a commercial for a dental 179 00:06:30,910 --> 00:06:33,045 product or some information and somebody's sitting there 180 00:06:33,045 --> 00:06:34,324 with a suit and tie and they're using 181 00:06:34,324 --> 00:06:36,324 all these big fancy words and telling you 182 00:06:36,324 --> 00:06:40,165 about peri implantitis and gingivitis and periodontal, like, 183 00:06:40,165 --> 00:06:40,985 we need to bring 184 00:06:41,470 --> 00:06:41,970 our 185 00:06:42,430 --> 00:06:45,009 lingo down a bit and be more, 186 00:06:45,710 --> 00:06:47,150 of on the patient side. And so we 187 00:06:47,150 --> 00:06:48,694 need to change our approach with how we're 188 00:06:48,935 --> 00:06:49,435 communicating 189 00:06:49,735 --> 00:06:51,035 our clinical findings, 190 00:06:51,895 --> 00:06:54,235 our oral hygiene instructions to patients, 191 00:06:54,615 --> 00:06:56,134 and we need to just put ourselves in 192 00:06:56,134 --> 00:06:57,814 their shoes and pretend as if like we're 193 00:06:57,814 --> 00:07:00,509 trying to explain this to our younger sister 194 00:07:00,509 --> 00:07:02,189 or our younger brother or our mom or 195 00:07:02,189 --> 00:07:04,589 our dad, and not use so much technical 196 00:07:04,589 --> 00:07:06,270 terms because then we're wasting our time, and 197 00:07:06,270 --> 00:07:08,050 it just goes over the patient's heads. 198 00:07:08,704 --> 00:07:11,524 And working on this effective communication and just, 199 00:07:12,305 --> 00:07:14,964 you know, bringing things to a to a 200 00:07:15,495 --> 00:07:16,324 a a easier 201 00:07:17,000 --> 00:07:19,480 form for patients to understand, you'll have greater 202 00:07:19,480 --> 00:07:22,360 outcomes with, cooperation from the patient, and you'll 203 00:07:22,360 --> 00:07:24,279 start seeing great results with all of the 204 00:07:24,279 --> 00:07:26,055 amazing work that you're doing. You're not gonna 205 00:07:26,055 --> 00:07:27,035 be having to, 206 00:07:27,335 --> 00:07:29,415 replace so many fillings due to poor oral 207 00:07:29,415 --> 00:07:31,254 hygiene. You'll actually see some buy in from 208 00:07:31,254 --> 00:07:32,795 the patients because they actually understand 209 00:07:33,509 --> 00:07:35,750 why they're there, what you're doing, why you're 210 00:07:35,750 --> 00:07:37,110 doing it, and what they need to do 211 00:07:37,110 --> 00:07:38,170 when they go home. 212 00:07:39,430 --> 00:07:41,830 Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. I completely agree with you 213 00:07:41,830 --> 00:07:43,274 there. And I wanna thank you so much 214 00:07:43,274 --> 00:07:45,035 for those final thoughts, James. This has definitely 215 00:07:45,035 --> 00:07:47,194 been an informative discussion. So, again, I wanna 216 00:07:47,194 --> 00:07:48,634 thank you so much for coming on Becker's 217 00:07:48,634 --> 00:07:50,714 HealthCare, and I look forward to connecting, with 218 00:07:50,714 --> 00:07:51,615 you again soon. 219 00:07:52,699 --> 00:07:54,399 Thank you. Thank you for having me.